The method used by professional upholstery cleaners is of necessity rather technical so as not to result in dye bleeding on expensive upholstered furniture. The problem involved in cleaning upholstery revolves around the fact that numerous types of upholstery exist in which varying strengths of cleaning solutions are needed. Determining the specific strength of cleaning solution needed to clean a single piece of furniture requires testing various strength solutions on hidden portions of the upholstery. After applying the solution to a hidden portion of the furniture, it is necessary to wait up to twenty minutes to determine whether dye bleeding will occur. It is obvious that this trial and error method can become quite time consuming. Moreover, the testing requires knowledge of different types of materials and cleaning solutions in order to determine the proper solution needed.
However, there is often a high rate of turnover among upholstery cleaners. A newly hired worker may stay in this job for only six months. This is insufficient time for adequately training the individual. Nevertheless, such inadequately trained individuals are frequently sent into the field to clean furniture because of the demand for these services. Because one worker may be able to clean up to fifteen pieces a day, the potential liability of the cleaning service due to dye bleeding caused by such an individual can be prohibitive. Thus a simple method and apparatus for cleaning upholstered furniture which involves a standardized procedure that can be followed by unskilled workers and which is relatively safe, meaning without any dye bleeding, and which is reasonably effective is needed.